Tempest of Time (A Fire Emblem Three Houses Fanfiction) (Spoilers for FE:3H)

[Miho Chan]

Part 1

Golden Sand

Imperial Year 1179
1st of the Blue Sea Moon (July)
A Realm Between Realms​

"Their memories are shattering!" Someone screamed.

"I am aware Robin, but life creation is in neither of our realms. I am doing my best to preserve their memories, but the shattering is inevitable." Another voice calmly replied.

"Dammit all Naga! I will NOT have my new children losing their memories like this!" Robin said, her nails digging divots into her hand. A trail of blood crept down her hand, dripping onto the stone table that two bodies were resting upon. One was that of a woman's, another of a man's. Both were obviously inhuman, a direct side effect of the Fell and Divine Dragon's power and their lack of dominion over life creation. The second woman, Naga, glared at her darker counterpart,

"I'm trying Robin. Focus on your task. I'll focus on mine!" Naga yelled, sweat dripping down her face. Robin nodded, pure unadulterated power beings raced towards the two bodies. After all, the Draconic "Goddess" was creating life from the void, something that was almost entirely impossible without a serious amount of magical power.

Meanwhile, Naga was busy shielding the mind and soul of the two bodies, preventing them from being destroyed by the influx of Mana.

"It's no use Naga… It seems part of my story as an amnesiac is bleeding through. Thankfully, whatever you're doing is preventing total memory loss, and it seems they're just repressing the memories. They'll recover them in time…" Robin muttered mournfully, sending a second stream of power to the stone table. "Now, let's send my children towards their journey. I hope the bonds they make will stand the tests of time." The "Goddess" says as a portal opening underneath the two sleeping bodies. "Goodbye, Alyx and Vaal. Good luck with your task, not that you'll remember…" She continued, her eyes red and puffy. For a brief moment, there is sorrow. Then it is gone, replaced by a mask of indifference, which her unexpectedly loud sniffle that certainly didn't happen didn't break, whatever are you referring to. "Well, now that that is taken care of, wanna go out for… SHIT!" Robin yelled, as a thrum echoes through the void.

A few seconds passed, and Robin looked down at the floor. "What the hell was that?"

"THAT," Robin turned, looking behind her at the direction of the high-pitched voice- then looked down, and down again, to have her eyes finally find the tiny figure with messy orange curls "WAS MY CHAMPION. AND NOW HE'S MISSING." The tiny goddess tapped her foot. 'Well? What happened?"

Robin stared. "Okay, who the hell are you?"

Naga coughed. "Robin, be known to Yune, fragmented Goddess of Tellius, goddess of change, chaos, development, art, and war. Yune, meet Robin, Goddess of darkness, revelation, amnesia, and strife." She paused. "Though this version of her seems to have not yet regained the other half of her self… or escaped her medallion."

Yune nodded. "And I was about to get loose without having to have my world descend into war. Using a new champion. I had to wade through miles of red tape and Celestial bureaucrats and finally got the opportunity to use a CYOA to send a champion to Tellius. And then he got derailed on the way!" She huffed, crossing her arms. "Now I don't know where he is! WHERE DID YOU SEND HIM?"

Robin winced, this being the first time she had interacted with an "Outrealm" Goddess. "I sent him to Fodland. Though it was entirely unintentional!" She says her arms and hands making affirming gestures, "Lucky that you got a CYOA though… Naga and I had to literally create their bodies from our lifeblood."

Yune froze. "Fodlan? That one with the dead goddess and that nasty war?" As her fellow goddesses nodded, she sighed. "Well… I can't intervene directly. So let's make a bargain." She looked across. "Neither of you are creation goddesses. So, making them… likely had side effects, right? So, you help me bring my boy home once your children succeed, and in return, I'll help you fix whatever went wrong with your kids. And in the meantime, my champion can help out with Fodlan. We all know they need the help…"

Robin and Naga look at each other, a thousand words flying between them at a glance.

"The only issue I have with that arrangement is their agency. I would like to also offer our children's support in Tellius should they choose to go. Should your champion not wish to go to Tellius, we will help you either create or recruit another champion. Sound fair?" Naga offers, Robin nodding along in agreement.

Yune thought for a second, then nodded. "That might work. In the meantime, I've got a few things I can do to help my champion out- some of his point choices have been rendered invalid, so I can rebalance a couple of things. In the meantime, Let's see where he, and your children, landed..."

---

Mountains Near Daphnel Territory​

Claude whistled a merry little tune to himself as he trekked through the mountainous forest as if he were taking a stroll through his backyard. Wonderful thing, whistling, kept the smart beasties away and kept twitchy hunters from making their first meeting mighty awkward. A very important lesson, that. Almost came with a scar attached, too.

Hopefully, he'd stumble on a forager this time around, he had found a couple of shrooms he didn't recognize during his trek, and wanted to know whether they ought to go into his pan or into his poison ja-

Now, whatever is that over there?

He edged closer to what seemed to be some sort of huge moss blanket hanging off a thicker part of the canopy, whatever it was attached to obscured by the foliage.

He was but a few steps away when a gust of wind blew through the treetops, making the trunks groan and the branches rattle wildly. Also, as it turns out, knock off whatever the moss was attached to.

Or whoever, going by the glimpse of robes his conscious mind had managed to process by the time his body was halfway through a leap to catch the unfortunate person before they broke their neck on the rocky ground.

Unfortunately, he didn't account for the sheer size of his rescuee, nor for the fact that he was apparently clutching a second one.

Which was what saw him winding up at the bottom of a tangle of limbs and groaning people, a moss-covered tail muffling whatever he had to say about his predicament.

Alyx blinked,

Why am I in a forest?

Blinking again did nothing to dispel her new surroundings. Well then. It seems that she had either been pranked by her siblings or had been isekai'd. Joy. As panic began to set in, her head swiveled to take in the surrounding area, along with her new body. The trees were unfamiliar, as was her body, which had been distinctly lacking mammaries yesterday.

This is not good. I'm not in Shank's Park, and I definitely did not have breasts yesterday. Or a tail. Or Fins on my head and spine. Fuck! Isekai'd into something, as a Monster Musume… Wait! Why is the ground moving?!

Something groaned underneath her, and she squeaked, leaping into the air comically. There were two men underneath where she had been lying moments ago. Her new tail lashing back and forth in her state of discomfort, and her cheeks a cherry red, Alyx asked,

"Hey! You guys alright?"

Going by the forceful, painful exhalation that her landing on the poor man's gut had caused, no, he was not alright. It was no surprise his first words in this brave new world were irate Catalonian cussing punctuated by small gouts of what looked like a heady mix of pollen and spores, his snarling face looking more at home in a painting of some demon what with the horns, slit pupils and fangs, "M'HA CAGO EN DEU, LA CREW I EL FUSTER QUE LA FEU, QUE CONY ET PENSES QUE FAS SALTANT SOBRE MEU!?"

"Sorry!" Alyx squeaked, carefully climbing down from the man's gut. "I didn't mean to hurt you! Wait… Why the fuck have you literally been covered in moss Ni?" As she speaks the name(?) of the man that she had been standing on previously, Alyx yelps in pain, grabbing her head in her hands, her face screwed up in pain. "Itai!"

It said something about him that the very instant she made a sound of distress he all but materialized to her side to check her over, anger at his rude awakening completely forgotten. "Hey, hey, you alright?"

Back on the ground, still spread eagled, Claude spat out a mouthful of moss. He'd fling out some sass, but he was a mite too busy pulling himself to his feet and joining the dragon man(?) in his efforts. He had already lost his dignity and gained some bruises trying to help these two, in for a copper, in for a gold.

Alyx shook her head, indicating that she was very much not alright. "I… I can't remember things I should be able to! AND IT'S NOT AMNESIA!" She yells, preempting the likely response. "Like, I remember a segment of memory, then nothing, then the rest of the segment! Kuso…"

There was a pregnant pause as Vaal went over his own memories, his eyes flickering side to side as he racked his brainmeats. Whatever he found, it wasn't to his liking, his wings and tail seeming to droop even as his horns sagged and slunk back into his skull. "Shit, me too. It is like trying to recall a dream, all the bits and pieces with nothing but vague feelings and impressions tying together the gaps."

Claude took a single silent step back, his eyes doing some flickering of their own, switching between the two dragon people as the beginnings of a scheme started to coalesce into his mind. So it was with his best smile and friendliest tone that he finally spoke up, "If I may? I do believe I could be of some aid to both of you."

His question was for naught, as one of the draconic humans was busy gaping at the other. "Holy shit you're big Ni." She whispers. "I don't remember you being this big. What the actual fuck?"

Vaal let out a low chuckle carrying a puff of green spores, an actually pleasant smell this time rather than the thick gouts from before, his hand moving almost of its own volition to give her a condescending pat on the head, the talons he had in place of nails coupled with his coarse skin making the experience not unlike a hawk deciding to land on her head, "Nah, you clearly just shrunk in the washer."

Claude, meanwhile, had taken another step back and settled into a comfortable lean against the tree the duo had fallen from. He had no issue waiting, the more he learned before he gave them the spiel, the better.

"Still the same jokester from before, eh Ni?" Alyx replied, accepting the headpats with practiced ease. "Well, we better give mister fancypants our attention now, eh?" She says, intentionally louder than she normally would. "How can we help you, Mister?"

His smile and friendly tone still in place, he opened his mouth, managing to get out an, "How we can help each other I'd sa-"

"Oh good, you already found Claude," Robin says, a translucent version of her appearing between Claude and her two children. "How are your memories Vaal, Alyx?" She asks, concern evident in her voice.

And for a second time that day, Claude fell pointedly silent, that brilliant mind of his firing on all cylinders to process the events unfolding before him and, more importantly, take advantage of them. Suffice to say, the already high priority of befriending the pair and learning all he could about them had just skyrocketed to the very top of his list.

Alyx whipped around, glaring at Robin fiercely. "THAT WAS YOU!?" She bellowed, her tail lashing back and forth, and her ears flat against her head. "EXPLAIN!"

"Now, now, let's not scream at the feathered nope-rope in disguise," Vaal said in what semblance of a placating tone he could manage, a taloned hand finding its way to her shoulder. His head tilted, eyes fixating on the translucent projection, "That said, an explanation would be very much appreciated."

Robin rubs the back of her head, barely acknowledging Alyx's (rightful) rage with a sigh. "Something went wrong during the creation of your bodies. You don't quite have amnesia, but pieces are missing. Don't worry too much though, they'll come back piece by piece." She explains, her ethereal fingers patting Alyx's head. "Also, your mission has changed a bit. Sothis fucked up, to be perfectly frank. We did too. One of Yune's champions also got mixed up in this dumpster fire. Honestly, is it too much to ask for something to go right for once?" The former tactician complains, palming her face. "Anyways, I'd prioritize finding You-Know-Who. How you do it is up to you, as per usual. Good luck my children! Looks like my time is up~" She says, her body dissolving into purple motes of light.

Claude, who had been leaning against a tree behind her, gives the pair a meaningful look, a twist of his hand wordlessly encouraging them to speak up. He's found that people tend to be more free with their words when they aren't harried by pointed questions.

"Dammit mom, seriously, leaving us with just that," Alyx complains, before turning to the young lord. "Anyways, nice to meet you Mr. Riegan. My name is Alyx, with no last name. The massive beanpole over there is my brother, Vaal." She pauses for a bit, collecting her thoughts. "We're sorta lost, hungry, tired, and generally miserable. Could you help us out there a bit?" She asks, clasping her hands together and giving the Lord her best puppy dog eyes. Almost as an afterthought, she says, "I'll make it worth your while, with some information~"

Vaal's hand shifts from Alyx's shoulder to her head, settling there peacefully for all of half a second before he gives the closest to an open palm noogie that can be managed, his tone half teasing half chiding, "Sis, we might only know of him, but he isn't the sort to need to be bribed to act like a decent human being."

Claude let out a quiet little chuckle at the byplay, waving away the man's concerns, "Good to see my reputation precedes me. I was planning on settling for a break soon anyways, we can get a fire going and lighten my pack with a good meal."

"That sounds good Heir Riegan!" Alyx cheered her tail swaying side to side, belying her excitement. "Food sounds really good right about now…" She continued, looking hungrily at Claude's backpack.

It wasn't long before they had a cozy little campfire around which to huddle and get a right and proper scheming session over some roast rabbit and mushroom skewers going. The three travelers sat around the campfire, partaking in the rabbit skewers with mushrooms. The only female spoke up, asking the question on everyone's mind.

"What now Claude, Vaal?"

---

Ardesitan Empire, City of Enbarr
Citadel of the Imperial Palace​

There were few places in Enbarr where one could be guaranteed quiet. For the working class and those on the streets, the rumble of carriages and carts never really ended, and there would always be the chance of screams, yells, or clatters as men went about the all-hours work of maintaining and running the city. For the nobles, even thick walls and padded drapes couldn't stop the footsteps of servants or the pounding boots of messengers, as each lord and lady attempted to stay on top of the rapidly shifting political world of the Empire.

Edelgard, however, had discovered that the top of the keep tower in Enbarr's citadel was as good a place as any to find some peace. Most couriers and courtiers would balk at the eight-floor flight of stairs, and the land within the walls of the palace was quiet enough that only a dull murmur could reach up upon the breeze, if that. And at night, Edelgard could look skyward, unhindered by any distractions, and take a moment to brood reflect.

Hearing the almost silent rustle of cloth behind her, Edelgard suppressed a quirk of the lips. And, as always, Hubert was watching her back. Although she hadn't faced any assassination attempts in months, Hubert only left her alone when she was with the only members of her guards he trusted, her father, or her heavily warded rooms. He always was quiet when she was on her own, and rarely distracted her from her thoughts. Still, even the littlest bit of sound could disturb her when she didn't want to continue a line of thought. And now, considering the possible methods she could eliminate two innocent people her age and plunge half of Fodlan into civil war, even the rustle of Hubert's uniform or the distant, steadily loudening scream coming from above-

-wait, what?

Edelgard's eyes shot up just in time to catch a glimpse of a dark form shooting down towards her. With a soft yelp, she threw herself flat, landing in such a way to see Hubert charge towards her- only to stop, backpedaling too late to avoid the plummeting figure. Her majordomo was knocked ass-over-kettle, tumbling back entwined with the figure, to land crashing into the wall beside the tower's door.

Edelgard came to her feet, reaching for her dagger, prepared to fend off an assassination attempt, only to gape as the figure stumbled upright. He was cursing up a storm, though she couldn't recognize the language (repeated short words in that tone of voice translated fine), was wearing a peculiar pair of round, black spectacles (at night),... and had wings.

Wings. Black feathered wings, which seemed to be only slightly mussed from his crash landing. What the name of the goddess...

Edelgard watched as the figure grumbled, his words suddenly shifting to something she could understand. "...soft landing my newly feathered ass. You know, Yune, you're not really selling me on the whole 'benevolent ROB' thing you promised… me…" His voice trailed off as he raised his head, yellow eyes catching sight of Edelgard. "...you know, I could have sworn I was supposed to go to Tellius. Which means either I'm hallucinating, or something has gone terribly wrong."

Steeling herself, Edelgard readied her dagger. The man didn't seem hostile, therefore… "Seeing as I'm not a hallucination, I suppose very wrong describes your situation perfectly. Seeing as you are trespassing in the Imperial palace and just assaulted one of my servants, I'm going to have to ask you to stand down."

The man blinked, turning slightly to see Hubert slowly rising to his feet. "...yup. Very wrong indeed." The man shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, princess- hang on, is the heir to an empire called a princess, a lady- you know what, I don't care. Edie, I swear I didn't mean to end up here or hit Hubie over there. Look, I'll give you a bit of advice before I scoot out of your life, possibly forever, mmkay?"

Edelgard glowered at the figure. "I said, stand down!" Behind him, Hubert shook his head, focusing through what must have been a haze of pain, shadows creeping around his fingers. If she could hold his attention just a minute more…

"Yeah, no." Pushing up his glasses and hiding his eyes. "Word of advice. One, don't trust the Argathians. They're planning on removing you as soon as you win this little war you're planning, and even Hubert can't watch your back all the time." Edelgard stiffened, her eyes widening as Hubert did the same. How did he know that? "Second, if you actually tried to seek allies, instead of just declaring everyone your enemies, you might have a bit more success. You're not the only one who thinks the Crest system needs to go. And finally-" His face developed an annoying, broad smirk. "- you should know I'm magically inclined, so Hubert's little sneak attack ain't going to work with magic."

At that moment, three things happened in quick succession. Hubert thrust his hand forward- causing the bolt of miasma he held to careen towards the strange being standing before him. The man, seemingly without hesitation, dove to the side, causing the bolt to miss him entirely. Finally, Edelgard was forced to throw herself flat a second time to avoid Hubert's off-target blast. This time Hubert managed to reach her without incident, and immediately put himself between her and the intruder-

-or rather, where the intruder had been. Aside from a few black feathers, there was no evidence the strange man had ever perched on the roof of Enbarr's citadel.

Edelgard blinked. In the few seconds she'd been prone, the man had vanished. The door was locked, and it would be suicide to jump from the tower roof…

...unless you could fly.

Edelgard came upright, startling Hubert, and dashed to the edge of the tower. There was no corpse lying on the ground below. Instead, her eyes barely caught a flash of movement as a flying figure flew over the distant castle wall.

Edelgard felt Hubert sidle up right behind her, remaining a few scant feet behind her. "...I believe we have a security breach, my lady."

Edelgard slowly shook her head. "If so, then that was the strangest and least effective way to exploit it I can consider. Tell me, Hubert, have you ever heard of Angels?"

"I have, but I do not believe that was one."

Edelgard pursed her lips. "A strange, winged being appears, offers cryptic advice based on hidden knowledge, then vanishes. It has all the hallmarks of divine visitation."

Hubert shifted as Edelgard continued to peer into the darkness. "So the goddess is truly against us, then?"

Edelgard considered. "...I don't know." Turning, she caught Hubert's visible eye. "Tell no one of this. If it's a trick, then the advice can be safely ignored. If it's a warning, it must be considered carefully." She bit her lip. "And- in all the stories of divine messengers, the wings of their heralds were white. We may be dealing with someone from… the other side, should such a thing exist."

Hubert slowly nodded. "Worth considering, my lady. One wonders what scheme such a messenger must have with such advice, should such a thing be true."

---

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

If one had been watching the roof of the Mittelfrank Opera house, the sight of a raven landing on the eaves would not have been remarked upon. Certainly, ravens were rare within the city limits, but they were not unheard of, and who could tell what went on in the minds of birds?

Seeing that raven transform into a sharp-dressed man would have drawn the eyes, however. They might have speculated on the clandestine nature of the man, maybe wondered as to what purpose such an unusual and handsome man could have landing on the roof of one of the city's landmarks. Thankfully, no one was watching as the figure had what amounted to a nervous breakdown on the roof. It would have entirely ruined the mystique of the man, who was furiously swearing as he gazed out at the city around him.

The man eventually stopped swearing, slowly calming himself down as he ran his hands through his russet hair. "Right. Okay, first things first, figure out where I am." Slapping his pockets instinctively looking for a phone that wasn't there, his hands instead closed around a circular object hidden within his quilted doublet. Reaching inside his shirt, he yanked out a small round object, grey stone radiating outward from a blue gemstone. "...and I have the Medallion of Lehran. Wait- no, this is just a copy." He paused. "Okay, new plan- talk to the boss. Then figure out what's going on."

Staring at the medallion for a moment, he finally resorted to tapping the center, narrowing his gaze. "Okay, where's the on button on this thing?"

Seconds later, the medallion began to glow from within, illuminating the man's face. "Okay, let's hope this-"

"Kannan! Are you alright?"

"-works." Kannan smiled. "Yes, Yune, I'm alright, if a bit off course. So, are we detouring in Fodlan, or did I miss a memo somewhere?"

The ethereal voice from the medallion sighed. "Interference, actually. To make a very long story short, the world I plucked you from had two other individuals taken at the same time. When they were sent off, your transit was interrupted, and you ended up in the world they were heading to."

I sighed. "So, 'May You Live in Interesting Times'?"

"I did warn you that working with me would have adverse effects on your personal probability. Side effects of being a chaos goddess."

"Fine. So, when can you send me onward?"

Yune's voice lowered. "I can't. I barely had enough power and clout to request and arm you, and you're technically already on deployment. I could contest it, but considering the time frames involved it could be years before I managed to request enough power to send you onward." Her voice turned chipper again. "Fortunately, Robin and Naga were very apologetic. They're willing to give me enough power to send you onward, with allies, so long as you help out their children. Stick around long enough to sort out Fodlan's little war, and you might get allies going into Tellius."

"Robin and Naga?" Kannan muttered, running his face with his free hand. "They sent their kids here? I suppose I help them out. What do they need?"

"...Robin is a god of Amnesia, and-"

"Missing memories, got it. Anything else?"

"I've redistributed the points invalidated by your insertion into Fodlan. You shouldn't have any problems with clothing, and I've given you a little taste of home. Have fun, save the day, and please do not die. I think I'd miss you."

Kannan smiled down at the medallion as the light flicked out. "Rest easy, my goddess. I'll be with you soon, don't fret."

There was a thump behind him. Kannan rolled his eyes skyward. "...I wonder, what will I see when I turn around?" Turning, he beheld the young woman with tousled, shimmering brown locks staring at him. "Du-du-dah! More complications, of course. Hello, Miss Dorothea. Can we talk before you run away screaming?"

---

AN(Miho): Hello! Welcome to the Collaberation fic that @Tale Swapper @Nihilo and I are writing! I hope you enjoyed the prologue of Tempest of Time! Now, I do wish to apologize for my absence from the writing scene. My muse took a vacation, and I had to coax her out with Roleplaying games. The other Authors of this story will chime in as soon as I collab this thread, and give them edit permissions. Thank you all again for reading.
~Miho

Canon has been snapped over the knee like cheap firewood and thrown into a nuclear hellfire dumpsterfire.
That's all I have to say
--Nihilo

 

[Miho Chan]

There was a long moment of silence on the roof of the Mittlefrank Opera house. Kannan winced as he considered his options. He really didn't want to do anything to hurt the young woman before him; Dorothea was a nice girl whose situation had evolved from desperate to tentative, and she had no sins that demanded punishment. On the other hand, if she ran away screaming and told everyone about what she'd seen, any chance of him having cover in Enbarr- or elsewhere, as word spread of a transforming man- would be screwed. He couldn't bluff, and wouldn't fight. Diplomacy was the only option.

Thankfully, Dorothea was made of sterner stuff than Kannan expected. She pulled in a deep breath, and slowly rose to her feet.

"I'm rather surprised to see an angel on the roof of the opera." She took a short step back, not quite moving to the door, but keeping her distance nonetheless. "So you'll forgive me if I'm skeptical of anything you'd have to say. This seemed too much like one of my plays for anything to be real."

"What the wings aren't enough?" Kannan snarked. "But seriously; the only angel up here is you, madame. I'm a Laguz- specifically, a crow Laguz. A bird man, not an angel. And none of this was scripted; I just needed a high place to hide out while I talked to my boss."

Dorothea looked down at the medallion, her nose wrinkled. Kannan winced at her displeasure. Calling her an angel might not have been a good idea. "And your boss is?"

"A goddess. Not the local one, through. She and I are from Tellius." At Dorothea's skeptical look, Kannan raised his hands. "Believe it or don't. Look, If you want me to leave, I will, so long as you promise not to tell anyone what you said or overheard. I'm going to try to be discreet, so having people blab about a raven who can turn into a man flying about would be counterproductive."

Dorothea slowly transferred her gaze from the medallion to his face. "...she mentioned a war. What war?"

Kannan grimaced. "The one which will happen soon." He paused. "What's the date- no, better; when does your year at Garreg Mach start?"

Dorothea's eyes widened, and she took a step back. "How do you know about that?"

Kannan raised his hands. "Easy, lady, I haven't been stalking you." He paused. "Long story short, where I'm from, we've got stories about a war set to start at the end of your year at the Officer's Academy- or more importantly, the end of the Imperial Princess' year there. You were one of her classmates, and later ended up fighting in the war as a warlock."

Dorothea blinked. "Me? Fighting in a war?" She shook her head. "That's…"

"You've got significant talent with Reason magic, enough strength and dexterity to be a more than decent swordswoman, and a budding gift with faith magic. The stories said you never really liked fighting, but you worked alongside your former classmates throughout the final stages of the war. A war I'd like to avert, by the way; none of the people who fought in it were very happy by the end. Too many scars, too much blood on their hands, and too many dead heroes."

Dorothea looked down at her hands. "...I haven't managed to scrape together money to apply yet. Or curried enough favor." She clenched her fist. "Is it worth doing? Going to Garreg Mach?"

"Yes." Kannan replied simply. "The friend you'll make and the skills you'll learn will serve you well, even if you don't find a husband there." His eyebrows rose, then wiggled. "Or a wife. There's a few cute and rich ladies attending who wouldn't be averse to settling down."

The comment startled a tiny laugh out of the singer. "Oh." She paused. "...how much did that story tell about me?"

"A little of your past. What you thought of yourself, your motivations for going to Garrag Mach. How you treat your friends. How you respected Manuela, despite her flaws. How you detested those who only saw your looks and voice." He shrugged. "It was more about how you interact with others, really."

Dorothea nodded slowly. "And you knew me, because of that story."

"Right."

"Okay." Dorothea sucked in a breath. "And this war. What causes it?"

Kannan grimaced. "Not going there. It involves some secrets that aren't mine to tell, and some which telling you would put you in danger. If we get closer to the war without it being averted, I'll give out more details, but it's my hope to turn it aside entirely. By the way, you still haven't answered my question."

"It's about nine months before the next round of officers enter the academy." Dorothea looked down at her hands. "And… if my plans work, I'll be with them."

Leaning against a wall, Kannan frowned. "Do you want any help with that?" As Dorothea's head turned towards him, he shrugged. "I know you don't want to, uh… owe any nobles any favors. I don't have much going for me, but I've got a nice pair of wings, an abundance of free time, and a few resources I might be able to tap."

Dorothea paused. "And what would that cost me?"

"Keep my secret? Give me an ally at Garreg Mach? A lot of important stuff is going to go down there, and having someone on hand who knows what and who I am might be nice. If only so I have someone to talk to."

Dorothea closed her eyes. "I'll think about it." Looking up, she tilted her head as bells began to ring in the distance. "I need to practice my set and turn in for the night. I'll keep your secret, at least. Meet me back here tomorrow night, eighth bell, if you're serious about helping me."

Kannan grinned, tossing up a quick thumb's up. "Wonderful. See you tomorrow night." He watched as the young woman moved to and through the doorway back to the depths of the opera company. "Well, that could've gone much worse. Now, where can a little birdy find a place to sleep for the night?"

Peering out into the darkness, the Laguz sighed, raising his glasses, letting his yellow eyes scan the city. Finally, he shifted, once again becoming a large black bird, taking off over the rooftops, towards the distant noble's quarter. A warm spot by a fireplace would be a good starting point.

---

"What now?" Alyx repeats, nibbling on her rabbit.

"Now, we talk about you two. Where you come from, why you look the way you do, why you fell out of the sky, and who the hell Robin is." Claude asks, his innately curious nature demanding answers. Alyx stared at Claude for a moment before breaking out into a grin.

"Can do, but it'll be fragmented, just like my memories." She says, "Ni and I are from another world you see. Naga, the Divine Dragon, and Robin, the new Fel Dragon of our world, choose us to help this one out when Sothis and Byleth requested help." Alyx pauses for a moment, taking a bite out of her rabbit and chewing on it slowly for a bit, thinking deeply. "I can't tell you all of it." She says, noting that Claude frowned briefly, but nodded, understanding somehow that some secrets were not hers to tell. "Thank you, Claude. Some of those secrets I have taken multiple vows not to reveal. Anyways, Ni and I got dumped in new bodies, created from a mix of Naga and Robin's blood, along with the ashes of our old ones." Once more Alyx pauses, this time taking a swig out of her waterskin. "Anyways, to make a long story short, Ni and I are on a mission to "Save Fodlan". Murphy hates us, so Robin's status as the goddess of amnesia hit us. Thankfully, someone managed to intervene, preserving around half to two thirds of our memories." She sighs softly, "That's all I've got, anything you want to add Vaal?"

He offered a nod at that, "I do. Namely, that thanks to the multiple worlds thing, we've seen a few of the potential routes Fodlan can head down within the next six years. Of course, it is all mere possibilities and fragmented memories, but the things revealed in them should still be largely accurate."

Claude's eyes widened. "You've seen the future?" He sank back, a pensive grin forming on his face. "What's going to happen?"

Vaal's face twisted as he rooted around the swiss cheese he had for memories, "As I said, there's multiple possibilities, largely dependant on the decisions of both you and a few other key people. However, in all routes that I can recall, there's a war, and your entire class is right in the thick of it." His grimace deepened at his memories, "And they aren't fighting on the same side. Nasty business."

Alyx shook her head back and forth. "And even those might be useless. Robin said that Sothis- that's the Fodlan Goddess' name, by the way- also fucked up. So she might have changed something, or gotten her memories back, or thrown out of whack… By the time we get around to the important stuff, our memories might be useless. If they're even back by then."

Claude nodded, his mind racing. Even a partial glimpse of the future could be huge. Still… "Do you know if I succeed?"

That got a smile out of the mould pile, "In all the routes I remember, you always manage to at the very least keep your life, and in a couple you either succeed or see to it that your dream comes to pass even if not by your own hand. If nothing else, the coming years are going to shatter the status quo and provide ample opportunity to dictate what will become of Fodlan and its neighbouring nations once the dust settles."

"Well, I can work with that." His grin grew wider, and far more genuine, as he slipped into 'scheming' mode. "Now, my dear friends, we discuss albis and backstories. Can't say you popped out of thin air, can we? So, let's see…" His voice changed pitch, shifting to the tone of a storyteller, "There were once a pair of hermits who retreated deep into the mountains to perfect their magic, or whatever skills you got," He added in his normal voice before switching back. "So out of touch with humanity they became, that their bodies warped in accordance with the power they sought to cultivate. But as the years passed, they grew weary of their seclusion, and when a kindly traveller stumbled on them they took it as a sign to end their hermitage and journey across Fódlan with him to witness how the world had changed in their absence."

Alyx blinked owlishly, before grinning softly, "That won't hold up with some individuals, but it'll likely work for most of the masses."

Vaal let out a low chuckle, "Doesn't need to hold against those few, we only need to give them our best mysterious stranger grin and let them come to their own conclusions as to what the truth is. Isn't that right?"

Claude's eyes sparkled in amusement as he did a mock half-bow as well as his seated position allowed, "The best lies are those that people tell themselves."

"Pfft!" So true~" Alyx giggled, "Oh, those two couldn't possibly be something other than what they say they are!" She says in her best "Commoner" voice, "We should totally help them settle into modern Fodlan!" Her multicolored eyes twinkle in amusement as she pretends to be "one of the masses".

The fundamentals of the backstory and albi set in place, the rest of the meal passes quickly in between laughter and a hashing out of the finer details, preparing explanations for the most likely questions and a firm base to work off of in the event of unexpected ones.

"So, would you "hermits" like to meet my entourage?" Claude asked, his poker face firmly in place.

"Sure!" Alyx chirps, moving to stand up from her log, "Let's go now."

"Wait just a moment. Remind me if you two have seen yourselves in a mirror before?" Claude asks, getting a blank look from Alyx. "We can't have you acting surprised from your appearance. The explanation makes her blush, and she shakes her head. "Here." Claude passes Alyx a hand mirror from his pack. Alyx raises an eyebrow at Claude, who simply shrugged, "Never know when a mirror will be useful."

Peering into the mirror, Alyx examined herself. First, she noticed her eyes, which had become akin to a nebula, having so many colors blurred together. Her hair was a long, midnight back, which, upon further examination, reached the small of her back. As she had noticed earlier, she had a pair of foxy ears, whose fur was the same color as her hair. Four 'fins' framed her head like a lion's mane, colored in a royal purple outlined in gold. The 'fins' she had on her spine were the same color, and only started at her mid back. Her upper spine was clear, thankfully. Looking further down, her tail was a strange mix of scales and fur. The scales were a rich midnight purple, and her fur was the same color as her hair. The scaled portion of the tail was only visible from the "top" of the tail, the rest of the three quarters of her tail covered in fur.

Yep, I'm definitely inhuman looking. Alyx mused, barely noting that she was wearing a robe, being utterly boring compared to the rest of herself.

Wordlessly, Vaal took the mirror once his... sister, he supposed she now counted as, it was their backstory and technically true going by how they counted as Robin's kids. Anyhow, once his sister was done examining herself.

He was, as expected, one tall and willowy bastard decked out in robes. Still rocking the skin and bones look no matter the iteration, it seemed. Deceptively strong, too, going by the feel of what muscle he had under the robes. That'd make for a nasty combination, he'd always been told he had fingers like bony hooks back home.

Regardless, that took second plane to his inhuman traits. And boy, oh boy, were there a lot of 'em. To start with, it looked like he was free real estate for plantlife. He had a smorgasbord of moss, lichen and fungi all across his skin and hair --which, he quickly found, covered a pair of pointed ears—, mostly in the latter, the former was largely lichen not-so-subtly reminiscent of scales. Speaking of scales, he had a huge pair of wings plus a long-ass spiked tail, all of them so buried in moss and vines you could barely see the rigid plates underneath. Compared to that, the talons in place of nails on both hands and feet barely rated a mention, same for his elongated canines.

No slit pupils or horns, though, although he could've sworn that his eyes and forehead twisted around in ways no human's should when he'd screamed Alyx off of him.

"Done checking yourselves out?" Claude cheekily asks, a cheshire grin on his face. The pair of Nabateans blushed, though the blush on Alyx's face was far more obvious.

"Hush you." She chides, "I was surprised. I also am rather happy with my appearance. Robin and Naga did a good job." She twirled around, showing off her robed figure. "I'm beautiful~" She looks pointedly at the males, daring them to object to her personal views.

Claude nodded along, knowing that to say otherwise would be akin to charging naked and unarmed at a feral wyvern. There were easier ways to commit suicide, thank you very much. "Yes Alyx, you are very pretty." At her harrumph, Claude sighed, "Keep the mirror. I know a losing battle when I see one."

"Thank you Claude~" The lady singsonged, claiming her prize. As she tucked the mirror away, she started down the nearest trail, in the direction that Claude's footprints had come from. "Come on Claude, let's hop to it! We've got an entourage to meet!"

Claude was already halfway up when Vaal spoke up, "Hold your horses. It'd be rude to leave this mess in here."

At the heir's pointed eyebrow and wordless question, he deigned to elaborate even as he went about collecting the remains of the skewers and the bones from their meals and tossed them into the pile of ash that was left in the firepit, "To the forest. It was kind enough to host us, the least we can do is be polite in turn."

Alyx turned around wordlessly, marching back towards the small camp. She silently proceeded to help Vaal clean up, her face crimson.

Claude, too, pitched in to help, although it was more out of curiosity than anything else. He certainly was rewarded when, as the firepit was finally buried in the earth they'd dug up in the first place, a good dozen of tiny motes of green light seemed to emerge from the nearby plantlife.

Vaal offered them a respectful nod, everything in his posture screaming that he'd been expecting them, "Our thanks for having us. Here's to the ashes and remains serving as good fertiliser."

The motes replied with a chorus of happy chirps, some even jumping around as they set upon the unorthodox offering, poking and prodding the freshly churned earth. In the background there was the faint sound of creaking bark and rustling foliage, coming together into an approximation of heavy rainfall.

"Storm is coming." Alyx muttered, gazing off into the distance. "Wouldn't have known if we hadn't given this offering to the forest spirits" She smiled kindly at Vaal, "Thanks for reminding me Vaal. I got a little too excited to meet Claude's entourage."

"Always pays to be polite." His answer was humble enough, but the smug tilt of his lips said otherwise.

"If there's a storm on the way, we better hurry back," pitched in Claude, who had apparently finished filing away all the juicy new information. He did spare a nod to the motes of light, "Take care, little ones."

---

Kannan groused quietly as he rested on the ledge of a building, his tiny stomach turning unpleasantly. He'd managed to steal a pastry and a pasty (there were differences between them, no matter what his old friends had said!) but shifting and flying took a lot of energy. What he'd managed to snatch in bird form was not nearly enough to keep him fed.

Still, his extensive scouting around the markets had located exactly the shop he needed. He'd had to wait until dusk, but if he was right, his money and food troubles could soon be over.

Swooping down, the raven dove in behind the last customer to leave the well-kept shop. He sped by the red-haired proprietor, alighting within the shop's confines, out of view of the bubble-glassed front.

As the woman bustled around the corner, broom in hand, Kannan took his first real risk of the day. With a quick shift of his internal magic, he changed from a raven into his humanoid form, leaning against the wall, the sudden change threw the woman for a quick instant. Kannan jumped on the opportunity. "Anna, I presume? An Anna, I suppose I should say." He pulled out a bronze card emblazoned with a wide-grinning girl. "I'm a customer who values his privacy. Sorry for the intrusion."

The woman dropped her broom to the ground. "...hmm. I think one of my sisters mentioned your kind. Laguz, right?" At Kannan's nod, she smiled. "You're a long way from Tellius, birdy."

Kannan sighed. "Yes, I am. And before you ask, no, I'm not looking for a way there, not yet. I have business in Fodlan, first. But to pursue that business will require resources, and later, legitimacy. I was hoping you could help me with the first."

Anna grinned. "I don't do credit, birdy, but I'm more than willing to take your gold."

"I have some, but not enough to last me until I can operate openly." Reaching into his Convoy Bag, Kannan withdrew a large drawstring pouch. "I've got about a thousand Gil in here."

"Gil?" Anna snatched the bag, upending some of the heavy metal coins into her palm. Inspecting them, she moved to her shop counter, tossing one onto a hanging scale. "...by the weight, you've got about twenty-five hundred Ducats worth of gold here. I'll convert them free of charge- foriegn coinage will be a dead giveaway if you ever have to pay someone."

Kannan nodded. "Alright. But this won't be enough to buy everything I'll need. And it won't buy me any contacts, since I don't know the right palms to grease."

Anna finished counting out rows of coins, sliding them into the leather sack before tossing them over. "Alright. So, what do you need?" She asked, withdrawing a quill and sheet of paper from below the counter."

"First, a reliable place to sleep, and a reliable source of food and water. Second, books on the mechanics of wind magic, of the anima or reason variety, as well as books on dark magic and alchemy. Third, information on the criminal underworlds of all three nations. Fourth, information on the current major mercenary groups moving through Fodlan. Finally, anything you can get me about enchanting." Kannan rattled off as he offhandedly dropped the jangling pouch into his bag.

Anna nodded as she wrote the last line. "Hmm. Not going to lie to you, this is going to hurt. I can nail down a loft flat somewhere out of the way for coppers, and getting food delivered isn't too pricey. Current information can be pricey, especially since most of the Rouge Kings try to stay in the shadows as much as possible. As for mercenaries, that should be simple. The real kicker is the magic texts. Just one of those books could run as much as five thousand, if there's even any available. A lot of spellweavers keep a close grip on their magic libraries, and only open them to apprentices or family." She paused. "That is, assuming you want books on the actual underpinnings, not just spell circles or mantra. Those are easier to come by."

Kannan shook his head. "I need a solid grounding, not just a how-to guide. So yeah." He folded his arms, leaning back. "Look, is there anything you need a little birdie for? Something I could do to earn some cash or credit from you?"

Anna grinned, her smile turning feral. "Well, now that you mention it… yes. Yes there is. What are your thoughts on espionage?"

Kannan grimaced. "On?"

"My competition." She sighed. "Look, Enbarr's a big place, with a lot of merchants. Most of them pay up on their protection dues and have local, connected suppliers. I've barely managed to scrape seventy-five percent profit, and that's just not enough when you're dealing with my sisters on the other side."

"Other side?"

"Of everywhere."

Ah. Cross-dimensional Annas. Kannan suppressed a tiny shudder as he took in that tidbit. If they ever broach into my old world, I wonder what they'd think of modern capitalism?

"What do you want me to do, then?"

"Some third and fourth story work." Anna's grin grew wider. "If I know what my rivals are doing to manipulate the markets, I can undercut them and make a fortune. Once I have enough operating capital, I'll finally be able to expand my operations across the Empire." Her face turned pouty. "My sisters upstream charge exorbitant prices for rush jobs. I'd like to avoid their 150% markups for next day delivery. It's not fun."

"How much more?"

"You heard me." Anna groused. "And without local connections, I can't just get local goods into my shop without them being delayed just enough to lock me out of the market."

Kannan sighed. "I'll help. Let me know the first target soon. In the meantime, do you know of anyone who'd be willing to give up a basic primer on Wind Magic?"

Anna's smirk returned as she pulled a thick book out from under her counter. "I think I might be able to get you one. Care to bargain?"

Kannan nodded, reaching back into his pouch for his money- only to freeze as his hands closed around an unexpected object. He pulled out a small rectangle of glass and black metal. "...hmm. Yes, I would."

"What's that?"

"A piece of home." Dropping his smartphone back into his bag, the laguz pulled out his money pouch- and his bronze membership card. "Just remember, you have to deal in good faith."

"Yeah, yeah…"